Tree roots are responsible for providing water, mineral salts and oxygen for the plant. They also act as storehouses for fat during winter months and anchor the tree to the ground.

Tree roots are responsible for providing water, mineral salts and oxygen for the plant. They also act as storehouses for fat during winter months and anchor the tree to the ground. Tree roots usually vary in length from 3 feet to about 8 feet and are found within eight to twenty four inches of soil. Tree roots often grow to a distance of about 2 or 3 times the girth of the tree crown.

However, having said that, tree roots can be a hindrance when it comes to landscaping your lawn. To understand how tree roots become a nuisance that needs to be addressed, it’s important to understand why tree roots come to the surface at all.

Why do trees develop exposed roots?

Exposed roots refer to those roots that come up to the surface of the soil. Older trees and some specific tree types like poplar or willow tend to produce surface roots. Older roots grow in size and girth just as the tree trunk does. In time, these heavier and larger roots rise to the surface. Soil erosion is another important reason why roots may become exposed over a period of time.

There are several problems that may be caused by exposed tree roots in your lawn:

• It is difficult to mow your lawn as the tree roots will obstruct or blunt the blades.
• Tree roots are an annoyance when you want to walk about your lawn.
• Exposed tree roots may affect the health of other plants nearby.
• If the roots grow near the garden path or pavement, the roots may crack or cause damage to the pavement, especially the bricks and tiles.

For efficient landscaping solutions to resolve the issue of tree roots, the following steps could be taken:

• If you’re planting the trees, take care to plant them at safe distances from each other where the roots can grow out without disturbing the neighboring tree.
• Tree roots may be trimmed, especially the longer ones. This should be done by professional landscapers as excessive trimming can damage the tree.
• Spread mulch under the trees, taking care to spread it out carefully to extend up to the canopy of the tree. Organic mulch may consist of wood chips from the same tree, bark, grass clippings and shredded wood.
• Take care to keep the turf area separate from the trees to prevent the tree roots and the turf competing for the nutrients and water in the soil.
• If your landscaping plan involves building a garden path or pavement, make sure that the material used is porous to moisture like brick or gravel and avoid non-porous materials which can get really hot in the sunlight.
• Placing root barriers around tree roots prevent a conflict between tree roots and harder surfaces, ensuring the barriers are sufficiently above the soil to prevent the roots growing over it.
• Another rather creative solution is to build a patio made of brick or stone on top of the tree roots.

Similarly, there can be other preventive or corrective measures that can be taken; however, in case of any confusion or trouble, it would be wise to seek the help of professional landscape management services.